Page 151 of Beast: Part Two

“Undress,” she states.

I go to pull the nightgown up in order to take it off. At that moment, the squeaking of the basement door has both of our heads swinging in that direction. Then I hear the sweetest voice ever. A voice I haven’t heard in four days.

“Grandma, someone is calling. Can I answer and see if it’s my mama or Hulk?” The desperation in his voice has tears appearing in my eyes.

I go to call his name, but it’s almost like Colleen anticipated it. She swung around with a small gun in her hands aimed at me. I freeze. I haven’t seen the rifle in the last two days, but I should’ve known that she wasn’t completely unarmed. She places a finger to her lips.

“Go on and answer it, Gabriel,” she says in a soft tone. One I didn’t think her rude ass had. “I’ll be up in a second.”

His little feet rushing away from the door had my heart racing.

“What did you tell him?” I snarl at her.

She smiles. “I told him that you and the demon are away for a while and that you need me to watch him. After that one is born,” she says, pointing at my midsection. “I’ll tell him you both tragically died and left me to raise him.”

Suddenly, I feel sick to my stomach. I knew this woman had nefarious plans for me, but I had no idea what they were.Hearing her so casually tell me she had planned to take my children and raise them had alarm bells going off in my head.

“Get cleaned up,” she spits out. “I’ll be back.”

She slowly backs up toward the stairs and then turns and heads up them. I wait for the sound of the door closing before springing into action. Quickly, I go back to the nail under my sheets, and jump into action, trying to pry the lock open. With a new sense of urgency and desperation, I fight with that nail in the lock. At the sound of the soft click, the lock gives and the shackle around my ankle loosens. I gasp as fresh tears nearly spring to my eyes.

However, I fight the tears down. I needed to be focused. This was not the time for tears. I slip my ankle out of the shackles and rush over to the shelf in the basement. There is a hammer hanging against the wall. I pull the hammer down. As soon as I get it off the shelf, the creaking of floorboards near the basement door alerts me that Colleen is coming back. I rush back to my cot, the same spot I was in when she left me. I hold the hammer behind my back.

Colleen slowly walks down the stairs, each one creaking with her steps. When she gets to the bottom and looks over at me, her face scrunches.

“I told you to cleanse yourself.”

Holding my head up, I look her in the face. “I want to see my son.”

“No. Now, get undressed.”

“Let me see my son,” I shout.

She storms over to me. I imagine she’s ready to backhand me and put me in my place again. The moment she’s close enough, I pull the hammer out and swing it, striking her across the face.

She yelps and crashes to the ground near the table. Her head is bleeding, but she’s not dead. I swing the hammer at her again, this time striking the arm she holds up to block me. I managed toswing the hammer twice more, hitting her in the face and chest. She finally goes limp. I toss the bloody hammer to the ground. My heart racing in my chest as I stand over her bloody body.

Seeing the blood causes bile to rise in my throat, I rush over to my piss bucket and empty my stomach. Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I stand on shaky legs.

Colleen has yet to move. I rush up the stairs. I nearly face plant on the steps in my rush to see my baby, but I fight to make it to the top. As soon as I do, I push the door open, walking into a sparse-looking kitchen.

I immediately catch the scent of freshly cooked bacon. A small circular table is in the middle of the kitchen with two chairs. Although the kitchen is small, it is clean.

In the distance, I can hear the sound of voices coming from a room nearby. It’s the soft hum of a television show, something with a laugh track. I make my way toward the sound.

The moment I spot my son sitting on the floor in front of the old television, tears fall from my eyes.

“Gabe,” I whisper his name.

He looks up from the TV and spots me. The smile that fills his face melts me to my core.

“Mama,” he says as he leaps up from the floor and rushes to me. He wraps his arms around my waist.

I step back so that I can get eye level with him.

“Are you okay?” I ask, looking him over.

“I’m fine. Grandma said you and Hulk—”

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